Serenity
by psych21
Summary: Sequel to 'The Lucky Ones'. Carter and Lucy are going to start a new life as newlyweds. But as life throws more obstacles at them, can their relationship survive?
1. Graduation Day

Serenity

Chapter One

**A/N: Ok, so this is the sequel to 'The Lucky Ones'. It begins a couple of months after 'The Lucky Ones' ended.  Please review and let me know what you think!**

May 14th

Graduation Day

Things had been going well for Lucy and Carter. It wasn't easy to work different shifts. There were weeks where they hardly ever saw each other. But they made the best of the situation they were in and reminded each other that it was only temporary. Despite the fact that they didn't see each other as much as they would like, their relationship had gotten stronger. Lucy had gotten over her fear of Anna trying to take Carter away from her, and they were starting to form a friendship. Carter's grandmother was acting as the wedding planner for their wedding, and was a big help to Lucy. They had gotten really close. Now Carter and Lucy were getting ready for Lucy's graduation ceremony. Her mom and grandfather were flying in for the graduation and to meet Carter. "My mom and grandpa should be here in about ten minutes." Lucy told Carter as she finished fixing her hair.

He walked over to where she was and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You excited about today?"

She laughed. "Excited, nervous, scared, and happy all rolled into one."

"Why scared and nervous?" He questioned, starting to kiss her neck.

"Well I'm nervous about you meeting my family because I really want you guys to get along. I guess scared isn't the right way to describe how I feel. Maybe apprehensive is the right word. Today is a big day. I officially become a doctor, you meet my family, and tonight is our engagement party."

"It's a good day though."

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh it's definitely a good day. Of course every day that I spend with you is a good day."

He leaned down and gave her a toe-curling kiss. He reluctantly pulled away when there was a knock on the door.

"They're early." Lucy observed, grabbing Carter's hand and leading him to the front door. She opened it and smiled when she saw her mother and grandfather standing there. She squealed and gave them each a big hug. "I'm so glad that you guys could come."

"Well it's not everyday that my daughter becomes a doctor." Barbara gushed. "I'm proud of you honey."

"Thanks mom." Lucy blushed.

"Besides that, your mother was getting impatient about meeting your fiancé." George smiled warmly.

Lucy laughed. "Well then I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Mom, grandpa, this is John Carter." Lucy smiled, pointing to Carter.

"So you're the one who's stolen my grand-daughter's heart?" George, her grandpa, shook John's hand.

"That would be me." Carter smiled.

"Lucy's told us all about you." Barbara replied, giving her future son-in-law a hug.

"Well Lucy's told me a lot about both of you too. I'm very glad to finally meet you." John smiled.

Lucy looked at her watch. "Ooh! We better get going or else we might be late for the ceremony."

"Let's go then." Barbara suggested.

* * *

The graduation was a painfully long service, but Lucy didn't notice. She was too focused on reflecting about the life she was going to have with Carter and thinking about how proud she was of herself for becoming a doctor. She had been working for it for so long, and now her dreams were coming true. She was so happy that later on in the day, she was practically jumping up and down as she walked to her closet to pick out the perfect dress to wear for the engagement party. Carter meanwhile was shaking his head and smiling at her enthusiasm. She took out a silver dress and smiled even wider as she turned to show it to John. She saw him staring at her like she was alien. "What do you think about this?" she asked, expecting an honest opinion. 

"You'll look gorgeous." He smiled.

She put the dress down and sat on the end of the bed with him. "I don't think I should listen to your advise about fashion anymore."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because last night you told me that I could wear a paper bag and I'd be gorgeous." She laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Well it's true." He replied, leaning over to give her a long, slow kiss. Normally, one of those kisses would end up with them making love, but not tonight.

Lucy reluctantly pulled away. "We really can't do this right now." She got back up and took the dress into the bathroom to change and put on her make-up since she had already done her hair.

"Yeah, we don't want to be late." Carter echoed her statement. He continued putting on his shoes. He was already dressed in his suit, but Lucy, in typical fashion, was running about ten minutes behind schedule. He walked over and watched her put on her make-up.

"I can't believe that I'm finally a real doctor!" she squealed. "I've been wanting this for so long, and now it's finally here."

"You deserve it Luce. You've been through a lot to become a doctor. I'm proud of you. A lot of people in your shoes would've given up, but not you." He wrapped his arms around her and she put her head on his chest.

"I probably would've given up too, if it hadn't been for you."

He shook his head. "You could've made it without me."

She shook her head and turned to face him. "No, I couldn't have..."

He didn't really want to dwell on the bad parts of life today. Today was all about celebrating. "Doesn't matter. The point is you made it." He smiled.

She turned around. "Yeah, and now your grandparents are throwing us an engagement party to celebrate."

Carter laughed. "Can you imagine everyone's reaction tonight when they find out that the party isn't only to celebrate the fact that you've become a doctor, but also to announce that we're getting married in about two and a half weeks?"

Lucy laughed. "I know. It will be priceless! I can't wait to see the look on Chuni's face!"

He laughed harder. "You never know, she might even faint!"

"Maybe."

"You almost ready?" he asked, looking at his watch. "We should get there before everyone arrives."

"Ok." She replied, fixing a small section of her hair. "I'm ready."

* * *

They arrived at the Carter mansion and greeted everyone as they entered the ballroom. So far, no one had seemed to notice that Lucy was wearing her engagement ring. Although people were curious about why Millicent Carter would throw a party for Lucy celebrating the fact that she had just become a doctor. About an hour into the party, they decided that it was time to make the big announcement. John grabbed her hand as they walked over to the band and motioned for them to stop. This got everyone's attention as they looked at the two doctors. "Excuse me...Can we have everyone's attention for a moment?" Once he was sure everyone was paying attention to them, he continued. "First of all, thank you for coming to celebrate the fact that Lucy Knight has finally achieved her goal of becoming a doctor." This drew a huge amount of applause from the group. "Second, a big thank you goes out to my grandparents for hosting this party." Applause was also garnered from that statement. "Lastly, there's another reason why my grandparents hosted this party tonight. It is a party to celebrate Lucy and her accomplishments, but it is also a party to celebrate something else. Lucy and I are getting married on the first of June." He smiled, expecting applause, but it was almost deadly silent. "Did you hear me? Lucy and I are getting married." 

Everyone, except the few people who knew about their relationship, looked at each other with shocked faces. Chuni was the first one to speak. "How is it that I didn't know this? I usually know everything!"

"Hey Jerry! Pay up! You lost the pool man!" Dave shouted, happy that he no longer had to keep Carter and Lucy's relationship a secret. "Oh, and congratulations you guys."

Soon everyone was crowding around Lucy and Carter, gawking at the ring or asking when this had all happened. This went on for almost an entire hour, as they accepted congratulations from all of their friends. Finally, the party had gone back to normal, with people dancing, drinking, eating, and not bombarding them with endless questions. They snuck off to a balcony together and shut the door. "Wow, that was...tiring." Lucy smiled.

"Yeah. I didn't know that they'd ask so many questions. I guess we hid it from them pretty well." He replied.

"Yeah, but now we don't have to hide it from them anymore, and it feels great not to have any more secrets!"

"I know. There were so many times I just wanted to kiss you right in the middle of the hospital and just proclaim my love for you."

"And there were so many times when I wanted you to do that!" Lucy laughed.

He gently kissed her. "I hear a slow dance starting back in there. Will you dance with me?" he whispered in her ear.

"Absolutely." She smiled, taking his hand and following him back into the party. All of the other people in the room seemed to melt away as she wrapped her arms around him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and they began to sway to the beat of the music. "I love you Luce."

"I love you too John." She told him.

Dave and Anna, who were dancing near Carter and Lucy, looked at them. "They look really happy together." Dave noted.

"Yeah they do." Anna replied with a smile. Publicly, she would smile about Carter and Lucy's relationship. But inwardly, she was furious. Lucy wasn't supposed to be the one marrying Carter. She was! How dare Lucy steal Carter from her. As she danced there with Dave and watched the happy couple dance next to them, she vowed to do everything in her power to break them up. She didn't care how long it took, what she had to do, or who she had to hurt. One way or another, Carter was going to be hers again.

Chuni was off to the side of the dance floor, talking with Jerry. "How is it that we didn't know about them getting married?" she asked.

Jerry laughed. "Chuni, get over it! So what? You let the most juicy bit of gossip the ER's ever seen completely slip past you. It's not the end of the world."

"It feels like it." She scowled.

"Well at least you didn't lose money to Malucci." Jerry reminded her.

Chuni laughed. "Yeah, but it was your fault for betting that Carter would get together with Anna."

Jerry lowered his head in defeat. "I know. It was a horrible bet to place."

* * *

After they were finished dancing, Carter and Lucy walked over to where Millicent and John Carter were sitting. "Thank you so much for this party." Lucy smiled as they sat down next to them. 

"Yes, thank you." Carter echoed.

"It's our pleasure." Millicent replied.

"Yeah, and besides, we have ulterior motives. We can't wait for Lucy to become an official member of the Carter family. Ever since she's been in your life, you've come and visited us more often." John Carter smiled.

Lucy and Carter exchanged smiles. "Well I can't wait for Lucy to become an official member of our family either." Carter replied. "But would you both be terribly disappointed if we left soon? It's been a busy day with Lucy's graduation and then the party."

"Of course not! We understand." Millicent replied with a smile.

"Thanks." Lucy smiled.

"Goodbye, and thank you again." Carter replied, giving his grandparents a hug.

"You're welcome." John Carter Sr. replied.

"Be sure to call me later this week. We still have some wedding details to iron out." Millicent reminded Lucy.

"Ok. I won't forget." She smiled as she took John's hand. They then walked over to where her mom and grandpa were sitting. "Hey. Enjoying the party?"

"Yes. Carter, you grandmother planned a very nice party." Barbara complimented.

"It's one of her specialties." Carter smiled.

"We are getting a little tired now though. I think we're going to call a cab and go back to the hotel soon." George replied.

"Well John and I were leaving now too. Why don't you let us take you back to the hotel?" Lucy suggested. She looked over at Carter, hoping that was ok with him. The smile on his face told her that he was fine with her offer.

"Are you sure? We don't want to intrude." Barbara asked.

"It's no problem. We'd be happy to drop you off." Carter spoke up.

"Ok." George nodded.

"Thank you." Barbara smiled.

* * *

After dropping off Lucy's family at their hotel, they headed home. Lucy entered the apartment first, flipping on the light switch and throwing her purse on the couch. "I am so glad that today is over." She sighed. 

"I think it went pretty well though." He threw his keys onto the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her a kiss.

"I agree. This day was amazing." Lucy smiled. "But it was also tiring. All I want to do now is go to bed, curl up with you, and get some sleep."

"You're wish is my command." He replied, following her back into the bedroom.


	2. Meet the Parents

Serenity

Chapter Two

A Few Weeks Later

It was now three days before Carter and Lucy's wedding. Everything was all set, thanks mainly to Millicent's help. She had helped Lucy get everything planned, ordered, fitted, and organized. Lucy was now at the airport waiting for her oldest and best friend to arrive from St. Louis. When she saw her, she ran over and gave her a huge hug. "Shelby!"

"Lucy!" Shelby exclaimed, returning the hug.

"Oh I've missed you! How are you? Was the flight ok?"

"I'm fine, and so was the flight." Shelby laughed. "So where is this hunky doctor that you're marrying?"

"He has to work today. But we're supposed to stop by the hospital later and pick him up for dinner after his shift ends." Lucy explained as they walked over to the baggage claim area. "I am so glad you are here!"

"Where else would I be? My best friend is getting married in three days! I wouldn't miss this opportunity to be your maid of honor." Shelby smiled. "Besides, it's been too long since I've actually visited you."

"Yeah." They had made sure that they stayed connected through e-mail and phone calls, but it had been a couple of years since they had actually been in the same city.

"So when are we going to stop by the hospital?" Shelby asked as she picked up her suitcase.

Lucy looked at her watch. "In about three hours. Why?"

"Well I think three hours is plenty of time to go shopping, don't you?"

Lucy laughed. "Definitely. Let's go."

* * *

Three hours later, Lucy and Shelby walked into the ER—each of them with a shopping bag. "Hey Jerry, where's Carter?" Lucy smiled. 

"I think he's in the lounge." Jerry replied.

"Thanks." She led Shelby to the lounge, where Carter and Dave were arguing; however, this argument was special because they weren't shouting at each other. "Aw, this is cute. You guys are almost having a civil conversation!"

Both Dave and Carter gave Lucy dirty looks. But Carter got up and gave her a kiss. "Hey there."

"Hey." Lucy smiled. "John Carter, this is my oldest friend, Shelby Thomas."

"It's nice to meet you." Shelby smiled.

"You too. Lucy's told me a lot about you." Carter smiled.

"Same here! It's always Carter this and Carter that in all of her e-mails!" Shelby laughed.

Carter laughed too and put his arm around Lucy's waist. It was nice to know that Lucy talked about him a lot to Shelby.

"So Lucy, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Dave asked, moving closer to Shelby. He was intrigued by her. She was about the same height as Lucy, but she had long brown hair and a piercing brown eyes.

"Sorry. Shelby, this is Dave Malucci." Lucy introduced.

"Hi." Shelby smiled, holding out her hand.

Dave shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Shelby looked at Lucy. "So this is Dave?"

"She's mentioned me?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, a few times." Shelby nodded. Truth was, she was intrigued by Lucy's description of Dave. Now that she had seen him, she wanted to get to know him better.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm getting hungry. We should probably try to go find a place to eat." Carter spoke up.

"Yeah. I'm getting hungry too." Lucy agreed.

"You guys are going out to dinner?" Dave asked, hoping that he could get an invitation to come because he wanted to know more about Shelby.

"You're welcome to come too." Shelby blurted out. Then she looked over at Carter and Lucy. "Isn't he?"

"Sure." Lucy smiled, even though she knew that Carter wouldn't want to spend the evening with Dave. But he'd have to get over it. She knew that Shelby had a small crush on Dave, and she didn't want to discourage it.

* * *

Soon, the four of them were sitting in a booth of a nearby pizza parlor. Since Lucy and Carter were sitting on the same side of the booth, they were holding hands underneath the table. 

"So how long are you staying in town after the wedding?" Dave asked Shelby.

"Only a day. I have to get back because I'm teaching summer school this year." Shelby replied.

"You're a teacher?" Dave asked.

"Yes." Shelby replied. "I teach psychology and sociology at a private school in St. Louis."

"I like teachers." Dave smiled.

Lucy leaned over to Carter and whispered in his ear. "I like teachers too." Then she gave him a kiss.

"Do they do that a lot?" Shelby asked, looking at Carter and Lucy practically making out on their side of the booth.

"Oh yeah." Dave replied, taking a drink of his beer. "They are very experienced at that."

Lucy pulled away from Carter. "Sorry." She apologized to Shelby and Dave. "Got a little carried away there."

"That's ok. There's no shame in being in love." Shelby smiled.

* * *

"So it seems that Shelby and Dave have really hit it off." Carter mentioned as he started to take off his clothes. 

Lucy slid her nightgown over her head and took off her jeans. "Yeah, well Shelby's been looking forward to meeting Dave for a long time."

Carter slid under the covers and watched as Lucy set the alarm clock. "I just hope that she doesn't end up getting hurt by him."

Lucy slid underneath the covers and snuggled up close to him. "Dave won't hurt her because he knows that if he did, I'd make him pay for it."

He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too." She told him, reaching up to kiss him goodnight.

* * *

The next day, Lucy walked out to the living room and twirled around in front of Carter. She was wearing a crème colored shirt and black pants. "Does this make me look...smart and mature?" she asked, putting on an earring. "Oh never mind. Why do I keep asking you for fashion advise?" she said, not letting him reply. 

"Why do you want to look smart and mature?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"I'm meeting your parents in less than a half hour! I want to look..."

"Smart and mature?" he finished her statement and then chuckled.

"Yes! I just want to look good so that your parents don't think I'm a slob or anything."

He smiled at her behavior. He loved it when she acted nervous and then rambled. "Luce, it is just lunch and they're just my parents."

"I know, but I just want everything to be perfect and I want everyone to get along. My family already loves you, and..."

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Everything will be fine." He gave her a kiss. "Now let's go before we're late."

* * *

They were the first ones to arrive at the restaurant. When Carter saw his parents enter, he waved them over to their table. "Mom, Dad, this is Lucy Knight." He smiled, making the introductions. 

"It's so nice to finally meet you both." Lucy smiled, holding out her hand for them to shake. But they didn't shake her hand. They simply smiled politely and sat down. Lucy sighed and sat down, knowing that this was going to be a long lunch.

"So, John, you finally decided to settle down and get married?" Jack, his father, asked.

"Yes. Lucy's a wonderful..." John started to say, before getting interrupted.

"Are you sure that you're ready to commit right now?" Eleanor, his mother, interrupted.

"Yes. I love..." John started to say.

"But are you absolutely certain?" his mother interrupted again.

"Yes." John said, managing to get an entire sentence out without being interrupted.

"Well then I guess we're happy for you." Jack replied.

"Thanks." John replied.

The table was silent as they ordered their food. Lucy was unsure what to say to them, because it was obvious that they didn't like her very much.

John didn't know what to do. Things weren't going very well, and he wasn't sure what to say. All of a sudden, his pager went off. "Excuse me," he said, getting up from the table. "This is the hospital. I should go see what they want." He noticed that Lucy was giving him a look that said, 'don't leave me here with them!' so he winked at her.

Lucy looked back at his parents and smiled before taking a sip of her iced tea.

John came back and dreaded what he was about to say. "Um, it looks like the hospital needs me to come in for a little while. I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to leave."

"Do they need help? I can come and help too." Lucy asked, eagerly.

"Sorry Luce. They don't need both of us." He told her.

"Well, if you have to leave, you have to leave. We'll see you tomorrow." Eleanor replied.

After giving Lucy a kiss on the cheek, he was gone. Lucy nervously smiled at his parents. "So, John tells me that you like to spend time in Europe. Do you have any favorite spots?"

"Oh, have you been to Europe before?" Eleanor asked.

"Um, no, not really." Lucy replied.

"Oh." Eleanor looked at Jack.

The table was silent again for what seemed like hours to Lucy. Finally, they had gotten their food and were eating in silence. She made a mental note to scold John for leaving her alone with his parents.

"So Lucy," Jack asked, "what does your father do for a living?"

"Um, I really couldn't tell you. He ran off when my mother told him she was pregnant with me. I've never actually met him before." She explained.

"Oh." Eleanor stated. "So I'm curious about something Lucy. Besides the fact that you and my son work together, what do you two have in common? Because it doesn't seem like you have anything in common except that you are both doctors."

Lucy was silent, contemplating that question. "I..."

Eleanor looked and Jack and Jack looked at Eleanor. "Well come along Jack. We have some things to take care of. Goodbye Lucy."

"Goodbye." Lucy managed to get out. After they were gone, she put her head on the table.

"Is something wrong?" the waitress asked as she approached the table.

Lucy looked up at the kind waitress. "In a couple of days, I'm marrying the most wonderful man in the world."

"That's great. Congratulations! Why aren't you happier?" she asked.

"Those two people who just left the table are his parents. They hate me." Lucy explained.

The waitress gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. No one is supposed to get along with their in-laws. I don't, and my husband and I are doing great anyway."

"Thanks." Lucy smiled. But she wasn't completely convinced.

* * *

About an hour after Lucy got home from the horrible lunch with Carter's parents, there was a knock on the door. "Coming!" she yelled as she rushed from the bedroom. Opening the door, she smiled. "Mom! Grandpa!" She hugged them both at once. "You're early!" 

"I hope you don't mind." George said.

"I don't mind! I'm glad to see you both!" Lucy squealed. "You don't know how great it is to see someone who doesn't hate me right now."

"Are you and John having problems?" Barbara Knight asked, becoming concerned.

"No! Oh no! John and I are fine. But I just had to sit through a lunch with his parents and they absolutely hated me!" Lucy explained.

"Oh they don't hate you! How could anyone hate my granddaughter?" George asked, giving her a re-assuring hug.

"Believe me, it's possible. They think I'm entirely wrong for their son. I'm not rich, so that means I'm not one of them. And if I'm not one of them, they don't want me around." She frowned. "But I'm just happy you guys are here. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No thanks dear." Barbara replied, smiling at her daughter. "So where is John?"

"He's at the hospital. They paged him in the middle of lunch. He should be back soon." Lucy replied.

On cue, Carter entered the apartment. "Lucy, I'm home!" he stopped when he saw that they weren't alone. He smiled. "Hello."

Lucy ran over to him and hugged him. "Hi." She whispered in his ear. She then led him over to the couch, where her mother and grandpa were sitting.

"Hello." Carter smiled.

"Hello John." Barbara smiled. "How are you?"

"Great." He wrapped his arm around Lucy. "And how are you both?"

"We're good." George replied.

Barbara looked at her daughter. Lucy looked like she was still upset from the lunch she had with Carter's parents. She figured that Lucy needed some time to talk to Carter about it alone. "Sweetheart, we haven't even checked into our hotel yet. We came straight over here from the airport. We're going to go check in and then we'll meet you at the restaurant later. Ok?"

"Sure. Do you want a ride over to the hotel?" she offered.

"No. We'll just take a cab. We'll be fine." Her grandfather replied.

"Ok. Then we'll see you at seven." John smiled as they left.

"So what happened at the hospital?" Lucy asked, curious as to why he had to go.

"It was a MVA. Two vans of soccer players collided on their way to a game. There were a couple of kids that didn't make it."

"I'm sorry." She wrapped her arms around him, knowing that it was hard to deal with kids dying. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No. It's ok. I'm here with you now, so everything is wonderful." He smiled, leaning down to kiss her. But she walked away from him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She told him, going over to the kitchen and getting some lemonade.

"Did something happen after I left?" he asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

Lucy shrugged, taking a sip of lemonade. "It's not important."

"Obviously it's important if it's upset you."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"What did they say to you to get you this upset?" he asked.

"You're not gonna give up until I answer you, are you?" she smiled.

"Nope. Might as well tell me now." He smiled back, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"They didn't come right out and say it, but they hate me."

"They don't hate you! They just don't know you."

"No seriously, they really do hate me." Lucy replied.

He just smiled at her, knowing that there was no way to change her mind about this. "Just give them some time. I'm sure that you'll change your mind after you get to know them."

* * *

That night, Carter and Lucy had a very pleasant dinner with Lucy's mother and grandfather. They had gone to the same Italian restaurant that Carter and Lucy went for their first date. 

"So John, where do you and Lucy plan to go for your honeymoon?" Barbara Knight asked as she ate a spoonful of spaghetti.

"Don't even bother asking him mom. He won't tell anyone—not even me." Lucy replied for him.

"Ooh, a secret! How romantic." Barbara smiled.

"I thought so. However, your daughter is very impatient when it comes to surprises." Carter spoke up.

"She always has been that way." Her grandfather chimed in. "Never liked to wait for Christmas or her birthday. She always tried to find where we had hid her presents."

"Well I'm glad to know the truth about the woman I'm about to marry!" Carter joked, smiling brightly at Lucy.

Barbara put her napkin down. "Lucy, would you come with me to the restroom for a moment?" she asked.

"Uh sure." Lucy replied, getting up to leave the table, but Carter pulled her back down for a kiss first. "We'll be right back." She then followed her mother into the restroom.

"What is it about women always having to go to the restroom together?" Lucy's grandfather asked.

Carter laughed. "I don't know."

"You do know that they are talking about you, right?" her grandfather laughed.

"Yes." Carter smiled. "You know, I'm glad that I'm finally meeting you and Lucy's mother. She talks about the both of you all the time."

"Well all we seem to hear about is you." He said, taking a sip of his drink.

Meanwhile, in the ladies' restroom: "He's amazing Lucy!" Barbara smiled.

"I know, isn't he?" Lucy beamed.

"I'm so happy for you. I was worried when you decided to stay and work in that hospital after what happened, but now I see that it was the right decision."

"Yeah. Now if I could just get his parents to like me..."

"Lucy, it's not your fault if his parents don't like you. You are a wonderful person, and if they are too stupid or stuck up to see that, then it's their loss." She put her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Thanks mom. Now can we go back out there?"

Barbara laughed. "Sure."

They walked back over to the table. "Ya miss me?" Lucy smiled at John.

"Hopelessly and desperately." Carter smiled back.

Barbara looked at them and smiled. Her daughter had found true happiness, and she couldn't be happier. "It's getting late. We should get back to the hotel. The next couple of days are going to be very busy."

"Yes. We should get back." Her grandfather echoed.

"Thank you for coming out tonight." Lucy smiled, giving them both a hug.

"It was nice to get to know you both better." Carter smiled.

"Same goes for us." Her grandfather replied.

"See you tomorrow!" Lucy cried out as they left. She then sat back down next to Carter. "That went well." She put her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah it did." He kissed the top of her head. "Let's go home."

"Lead the way." Lucy beamed, grabbing a hold of his hand.


	3. They Hate Me

Serenity

Chapter Three

**A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews!**

Lucy walked out to the living room and twirled around in front of Carter. She was wearing a crème colored shirt and black pants. "Does this make me look…smart and mature?" she asked, putting on an earring. "Oh never mind. Why do I keep asking you for fashion advise?" she said, not letting him reply.

"Why do you want to look smart and mature?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"I'm meeting your parents in less than a half hour! I want to look…"

"Smart and mature?" he finished her statement and then chuckled.

"Yes! I just want to look good so that your parents don't think I'm a slob or anything."

He smiled at her behavior. He loved it when she acted nervous and then rambled. "Luce, it is just lunch and they're just my parents."

"I know, but I just want everything to be perfect and I want everyone to get along. My family already loves you, and…"

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Everything will be fine." He gave her a kiss. "Now let's go before we're late."

* * *

They were the first ones to arrive at the restaurant. When Carter saw his parents enter, he waved them over to their table. "Mom, Dad, this is Lucy Knight." He smiled, making the introductions. 

"It's so nice to finally meet you both." Lucy smiled, holding out her hand for them to shake. But they didn't shake her hand. They simply smiled politely and sat down. Lucy sighed and sat down, knowing that this was going to be a long lunch.

"So, John, you finally decided to settle down and get married?" Jack, his father, asked.

"Yes. Lucy's a wonderful…" Carter started to say, before getting interrupted.

"Are you sure that you're ready to commit right now?" Eleanor, his mother, interrupted.

"Yes. I love…" Carter started to say.

"But are you absolutely certain?" his mother interrupted again.

"Yes." Carter said, managing to get an entire sentence out without being interrupted.

"Well then I guess we're happy for you." Jack replied.

"Thanks." He replied.

The table was silent after they ordered their food. Lucy was unsure what to say to them, because it was obvious that they didn't like her very much.

Carter didn't know what to do. Things weren't going very well, and he wasn't sure what to say. All of a sudden, his pager went off. "Excuse me," he said, getting up from the table. "This is the hospital. I should go see what they want." He noticed that Lucy was giving him a look that said, 'don't leave me here with them!' so he winked at her.

Lucy looked back at his parents and smiled before taking a sip of her iced tea.

Carter came back and dreaded what he was about to say. "Um, it looks like the hospital needs me to come in for a little while. I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to leave."

"Do they need help? I can come and help too." Lucy asked, eagerly.

"Sorry Luce. They don't need both of us." He told her.

"Well, if you have to leave, you have to leave. We'll see you tomorrow." Eleanor replied.

After giving Lucy a kiss on the cheek, he was gone. Lucy nervously smiled at his parents. "So, John tells me that you like to spend time in Europe. Do you have any favorite spots?"

"Oh, have you been to Europe before?" Eleanor asked.

"Um, no, not really." Lucy replied.

"Oh." Eleanor looked at Jack.

The table was silent again for what seemed like hours to Lucy. Finally, they had gotten their food and were eating in silence. She made a mental note to scold John for leaving her alone with his parents.

"So Lucy," Jack asked, "what does your father do for a living?"

"Um, I really couldn't tell you. He ran off when my mother told him she was pregnant with me. I've never actually met him before." She explained.

"Oh." Eleanor stated. "So I'm curious about something Lucy. Besides the fact that you and my son work together, what do you two have in common? Because it doesn't seem like you have anything in common except that you are both doctors."

Lucy was silent, contemplating that question. "I…"

Eleanor looked and Jack and Jack looked at Eleanor. "Well come along Jack. We have some things to take care of. Goodbye Lucy."

"Goodbye." Lucy managed to get out. After they were gone she put her head on the table, lightly banging it on the table a few times.

"Is something wrong?" the waitress asked as she approached the table.

Lucy looked up at the kind waitress. "In a couple of days, I'm marrying the most wonderful man in the world."

"That's great. Congratulations! Why aren't you happier?" she asked.

"Those two people who just left the table are his parents. They hate me." Lucy explained.

The waitress gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. No one is supposed to get along with their in-laws. I don't, and my husband and I are doing great anyway."

"Thanks." Lucy smiled. But she wasn't completely convinced.

* * *

About an hour after Lucy got home from the horrible lunch with Carter's parents, there was a knock on the door. "Coming!" she yelled as she rushed from the bedroom. Opening the door, she smiled. "Mom! Grandpa!" She hugged them both at once. "You're early!" 

"I hope you don't mind." George Knight said.

"I don't mind! I'm glad to see you both!" Lucy squealed. "You don't know how great it is to see someone who doesn't hate me right now."

"Are you and John having problems?" Barbara Knight asked.

"No! Oh no! John and I are fine. But I just had to sit through a lunch with his parents and they absolutely hated me!" Lucy explained.

"Oh they don't hate you! How could they hate my granddaughter?" George asked, giving her a re-assuring hug.

"Believe me, it's possible. They think I'm entirely wrong for their son. I'm not rich, so that means I'm not one of them. And if I'm not one of them, they don't want me around." She frowned. "But I'm just happy you guys are here. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No thanks dear." Barbara replied, smiling at her daughter. "So where is John?"

"He's at the hospital. They paged him in the middle of lunch. He should be back soon." Lucy replied.

On cue, Carter entered the apartment. "Lucy, I'm home!" he stopped when he saw that they weren't alone. He smiled. "Hello."

Lucy ran over to him and hugged him. "Hi." She whispered in his ear. She then led him over to the couch, where her mother and grandpa were sitting.

Barbara looked at her daughter. "Sweetheart, we haven't even checked into our hotel yet. We came straight over here from the airport. We're going to go check in and then we'll meet you at the restaurant later. Ok?"

"Sure. Do you want a ride over to the hotel?" she offered.

"No. We'll just take a cab. We'll be fine." Her grandfather replied.

"Ok. Then we'll see you at seven." John smiled as they left. "You're family's nice." He leaned over to kiss her, but she walked away from him.

"I wish I could say the same about your family." She told him, going over to the kitchen and getting some lemonade.

"What happened when I left?" he asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

Lucy shrugged, taking a sip of lemonade. "It's not important."

"Obviously it is important if they've upset you."

"I don't want to talk about it." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized that she had practically screamed at him. She immediately felt guilty for taking out her anger for his parents at him.

When he heard her screaming at him, he knew that she was very upset. "What did they say to you?" he asked softly.

"You're not gonna give up until I answer you, are you?" she smiled.

"Nope. Might as well tell me now." He smiled back, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"They didn't come right out and say it, but they hate me."

"They don't hate you! They just don't know you."

"No seriously, they really do hate me." Lucy replied.

He just smiled at her, knowing that there was no way to change her mind about this. "Just give them some time. I'm sure that you'll change your mind after you get to know them."

* * *

That night, Carter and Lucy had a very pleasant dinner with Lucy's mother and grandfather. They had gone to the same Italian restaurant that Carter and Lucy went for their first date. 

"So John, where do you and Lucy plan to go for your honeymoon?" Barbara Knight asked as she ate a spoonful of spaghetti.

"Don't even bother asking him mom. He won't tell anyone—not even me." Lucy replied with a small pout.

"Ooh, a secret! How romantic." Barbara smiled.

"I thought so. However, your daughter is very impatient when it comes to surprises." Carter spoke up.

"She always has been that way." Her grandfather explained. "Never liked to wait for Christmas or her birthday. She always tried to find where we had hid her presents."

"Well I'm glad to know the truth about the woman I'm about to marry!" Carter joked, smiling brightly at Lucy.

Barbara put her napkin down. "Lucy, would you come with me to the restroom for a moment?" she asked.

"Uh sure." Lucy replied, getting up to leave the table, but Carter pulled her back down for a kiss first. "We'll be right back." She then followed her mother into the restroom.

"What is it about women always having to go to the restroom together?" Lucy's grandfather asked.

Carter laughed. "I don't know."

"You do know that they are talking about you, right?"

"Yes." Carter smiled.

Meanwhile, in the ladies' restroom: "He's amazing Lucy!" Barbara smiled.

"I know, isn't he?" Lucy beamed.

"I'm so happy for you. I was worried when you decided to stay and work in that hospital after what happened, but now I see that it was the right decision."

"Yeah. Now if I could just get his parents to like me…" Lucy's voice trailed off.

"Lucy, it's not your fault if his parents don't like you. You are a wonderful person, and if they are too stupid or stuck up to see that, then it's their loss." She put her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Thanks mom. Now can we go back out there?"

Barbara laughed. "Sure."

They walked back over to the table. "Ya miss me?" Lucy smiled at Carter.

"Hopelessly and desperately." Carter smiled back.

Barbara looked at them and smiled. Her daughter had found true happiness, and she couldn't be happier. "It's getting late. We should get back to the hotel. The next couple of days are going to be very busy."

"Yes. We should get back." Her grandfather echoed.

"Thank you for coming out tonight." Lucy smiled, giving them both a hug.

"It was nice to get to know you both better." Carter smiled.

"Same goes for us." Her grandfather replied.

"See you tomorrow!" Lucy cried out as they left. She then sat back down next to Carter. "That went well." She put her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah it did." He kissed the top of her head. "Let's go home."

"Lead the way." Lucy beamed, grabbing a hold of his hand.

* * *

Less than an hour later, they were climbing into bed. Carter thought this would be the perfect time to broach the subject of his parents again. "Lucy?" 

She had been setting the alarm clock, but turned to face him. "What?"

"I just wanted you to know that it doesn't matter to me if my parents like you or not. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that we love each other. Everything else is inconsequential."

Smiling, she put the alarm clock back on the nightstand and climbed into bed next to him. She lightly kissed him and then gave him a hug. "It means a lot to me that you would say that."

"And I mean it too." He reassured her.

She chuckled softly. "I didn't know that you subscribed to the 'love conquers all' theory."

"Don't you?"

She pulled out of the hug that she had given him and shrugged. "I don't know. I never really thought about it."

"Well, do you think that there is anything that could tear us apart?" He was curious about this now.

She didn't know how to respond to that question. "I don't want to talk about this. It's too depressing to think about us breaking up. The last thing I want to do is think of scenarios when that would happen."

"I guess that's fair enough." He kissed her forehead.

She turned out the lights and snuggled close to him. "Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too." He replied, giving her a passionate kiss.


	4. Dinner Party

Serenity

Chapter Four

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this uploaded. I've had it written for a couple of days, but my life got busy. Enjoy!**

The next morning, Lucy woke up in John's arms and curled up closed to him. When she heard him make a couple of sounds, she knew that he was awake. "Morning." She greeted.

"Morning." He greeted back. "Do we have to get up now?"

"Well you don't. But I'm going out shopping with my mom and Shelby soon. You know, shopping would be a lot easier if you'd at least tell me what kind of climate we're going to be spending the next two weeks in."

He chuckled. "Nice try. But I'm not going to tell you where we're going."

She took her pillow and hit him with it. "You're mean!" she joked.

"You're the one throwing pillows and somehow I'm the mean one?" he asked, pretending to be hurt.

"Yes!" she hit him again.

"Ok. You're asking for it now." He quickly sat up and hit her with his pillow. After gently hitting her a couple of times with the pillow, he laughed. "Give up yet?"

"Never!" she challenged him, getting a nice shot at his head.

He knew how to get her to surrender. He threw his pillow to the floor and yanked her pillow from her hands. Then he kissed her passionately, making her fall back onto the bed. "Now do you give up?" he whispered.

"I'm not giving up…just creating a cease-fire." She clarified, bringing his lips down to meet hers again.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Lucy, Shelby and her mother were out shopping. "He wouldn't even tell me the climate of our honeymoon destination." Lucy laughed. "How am I supposed to know what to pack?" 

"Oh c'mon Lucy! Do you think that you'll actually make it out of the hotel room?" her mother asked.

Lucy turned bright red. "Mom!"

"It's true. They probably won't make it out of their room for anything. They can't keep their hands off of each other!" Shelby chimed in. "They were all over each other when we went out for pizza."

"We were not all over each other!" Lucy exclaimed. "And besides, Shelby, my mother is right here!"

"What? You're a grown woman and you're getting married tomorrow. I think it's ok for us to talk about sex now." Barbara smiled.

"No it isn't! I don't want to talk about this with you. No offense, but you're…you're my mom!" she cringed. This was not the type of conversation that she wanted to have with her mother.

"Fine. I just thought that we could talk about anything." Barbara replied.

"We can—just not my sex life." Lucy clarified.

"Ok. We'll stay far away from that topic from now on." She promised her daughter. "How's your sex life Shelby?"

"Mom!" Lucy yelled.

Barbara laughed and put her arm around Lucy's shoulders. "Just joking honey."

"Why don't we just focus on finding new dresses for the rehearsal dinner tonight?" Lucy suggested.

"Aw, but I wanted to talk to your mother about my sex life!" Shelby teased.

Lucy groaned. "Why is everyone so obsessed with sex?"

"Oh, Lucy, you don't mind if I bring Dave to the rehearsal dinner, do you?" Shelby asked.

"No, of course not." Lucy smiled. "How close are you two getting?"

"Well I don't think I should tell you because you don't seem to want to talk about sex right now!" Shelby laughed.

"You didn't!" Lucy exclaimed. Then she saw the look on Shelby's face. "You did! Oh my gosh!" She paused, letting curiosity overtake her. "So how was it?"

* * *

Carter got in the driver's seat of his jeep and looked over at Lucy before starting the engine. "You look beautiful tonight." He said with a smile. 

"That's the third time you've said that already." She giggled.

"What can I say? I just love that new dress on you." He replied, referring to the red, floor length dress she was wearing.

"Well remind me to wear it more often." She smiled. As she looked over at John, she could hardly believe that tomorrow she would be his wife. If someone had told her when she first came to Cook County that she would eventually marry Carter, she would have laughed in their faces. But now she couldn't even imagine a life without him by her side.

"Lucy? Luce…"

She was shaken out of her thoughts by his voice. "What?" she asked, seeing that the jeep had stopped and they were at the Carter mansion for the rehearsal dinner.

"You were deep in thought." He stated as she linked her arm with his and started up to the door. "What were you thinking about?"

She laid her head on his shoulder. "You…me…us…how much I love you."

He kissed her. "I love you too Luce."

They entered the mansion and found that everyone was already there in the living room. Lucy looked around the room. She found that her mother and grandfather were talking with Carter's grandparents. Peter, Carter's best man, was talking with Dave and eating appetizers. Carter squeezed her hand and then left to go greet his parents. She saw her mother approach her. "Hey."

"Hi honey. You look great." Barbara greeted with a smile.

"Thanks. You look nice too." Lucy smiled, looking over at Carter's parents. They didn't look like they were having a good time.

Barbara looked over at what Lucy was staring at. "Don't worry about them. They don't matter." She whispered.

Lucy smiled, trying to re-assure her mother that she was fine. John had already gone to talk with his parents, and she decided that it would be rude if she didn't at least say hello to them.

* * *

Later on in the evening, after dinner, Lucy was searching for a bathroom. She passed by an open door and heard her name being called. She went into the room and found Carter's parents. She wanted to just run away, but decided to stay. "Hello." She greeted with a polite smile. 

"Are you lost?" Eleanor asked. "I know that big houses can be hard to get used to if you haven't grown up in them."

"Well don't worry about me. I'm fine." Lucy replied. "Big houses don't scare me."

"Ok. Well in that case, we would like to talk to you." Jack spoke up.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" Lucy asked, curiously.

"Why are you ruining our son's life?" Eleanor asked.

"Excuse me?" Lucy asked in shock.

"Are you pregnant? Is that why he is insisting on marrying you?" Eleanor asked.

"No!" Lucy exclaimed. "John is marrying me because he loves me, and I love him."

"But don't you see that you are ruining his life?" Jack asked. "I mean, first you get him involved in that stabbing at the hospital. And that stabbing took months out of his life. He had to relearn how to walk. Now you are trying to trap him into a marriage?"

"I did not get him involved in that stabbing! And for your information, that stabbing took many more months out of my life than his. I was in a coma! How dare you try to blame it all on me." Lucy yelled.

Dave, who had also been trying to find a bathroom, stopped outside the door when he heard Lucy yelling.

"Well maybe you didn't stab him yourself, but you are responsible." Eleanor told her.

"And besides that, you admitted it yourself yesterday. Besides the fact that you and John are both doctors, you don't have anything in common. John deserves to marry someone in his own class; not some young strumpet who doesn't even know her own father!" Jack yelled.

Lucy stood there, taking in everything that they were saying about her. She was furious with them, but she couldn't seem to speak.

"Here. Take this." Jack told her, handing her a check.

She looked at the check. It was for two million dollars. "Why?" she whispered.

"We don't want you to marry our son. So take this money and start a new life somewhere else. But don't contact John. Ever." Eleanor explained.

Lucy didn't know what to say. She just knew that she had to get out of there. She didn't want them to see her cry. She turned and ran out the door, oblivious to the fact that Dave was standing within three feet of her.

Eleanor and Jack looked at each other with huge smiles. "We did it!" they exclaimed.

Dave was furious about the way Carter's parents had just treated Lucy. He thought about going after Lucy, but decided that Carter needed to know what his parents were doing behind his back.

Carter was talking with Peter when he felt Dave tap him on the shoulder.

"Can I talk to you for a moment? It's important." Dave asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, have you seen Lucy? She's been gone for awhile." Carter asked, getting worried about her.

"Yeah. I saw Lucy. She's pretty upset." Dave replied.

"Why?" Carter asked. "What happened?"

"Your parents yelled at her. I didn't hear the whole thing, but they were pretty harsh. They blamed her for you getting stabbed. Then they went on this long tangent about how they don't want her to marry you. They even gave her a check to disappear."

"They what?" Carter yelled, getting the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Uh, they really don't want you to marry Lucy. She was really upset and ran off. But I thought that you should know what kind of parents you have." Dave explained.

"Thanks." Carter replied. Damn! Lucy was right. His parents did hate her. He knew that she must be in a lot of pain right now. "I'm gonna try to find Lucy and straighten everything out. Which way did she go?"

"Towards the garden I think." Dave replied.

"Thanks." He ran off, leaving Dave to explain to everyone what was going on. He had to go make sure that Lucy was ok, and then he would deal with him parents.


	5. Pillow Talk

Serenity

Chapter Five

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate the feedback.**

Carter ran out to the garden and found Lucy crying on a bench with her head in her hands. He sat next to her. "Hey."

Lucy looked up, startled. When she saw that it was Carter, she looked back down at the ground.

"I know what happened—well, some of it. Dave heard what happened and filled me in. I'm sorry that my parents are complete jerks." Carter told her, putting his arm around her shoulder.

Lucy put her head on his shoulder. What his parents said to her was horrible, but there was a bit of truth attached to their statements. Sure she loved him, and she knew without a doubt that he loved her too. But was their love enough? Did she really deserve him in her life? Deep down, she knew she shouldn't be bothered by the ramblings of two people who didn't know anything about her relationship with Carter. That didn't stop her from worrying though. "I think they might be right though."

He pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head. "About what?"

"You deserve someone better." She whispered.

He pulled away from her and made her look him in the eyes. "Lucy, don't say that. You are wonderful. You're beautiful, intelligent, funny…"

"But I'm…"

"I don't care what you think your faults may be. I don't see any faults when I look at you. All I see is the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with. And I'm the one who doesn't deserve someone as wonderful as you, but somehow you're here and I'll thank God until the day I die for that."

"Your parents…"

"My parents don't know me at all. They have never spent any quality time with me. I think I've talked to them maybe twice in the past year. They didn't even call or visit when I was in the hospital. I don't care what they think about you."

"They called me a young strumpet." She gave him a small smile. "I've never been called a strumpet before."

"You? A strumpet?" He laughed. "Luce, they had no right to be so mean to you."

"They want me to disappear from your life. They even gave me two million."

"You aren't tempted to take it though, right?"

"Of course not!" Lucy laughed. "There isn't enough money in the world that could make me leave you."

"Just checking." He smiled, and then frowned at the realization that he should go confront them about their actions. "I should probably go talk to them."

Lucy picked up the check that his parents had given her. "Would you please return this to them?"

"I'd love to." He replied, grabbing the check from her.

"Do you want me to come with you?" she thought she would at least ask, even though she didn't want to talk to his parents again. But if he wanted her there, she would be there for him in a heartbeat.

He paused for a moment. The truth was, he wanted her to come with him, but he just didn't want her to have to be in the same room with his parents again. "No, that's ok. I think this is something that I have to do alone. Why don't you go back to the party and try to have some fun?"

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I won't be able to have fun until you get back. Then we can have fun together."

He turned his head and gave her a kiss. "I better go do this before I lose my nerve."

They both stood up and Lucy wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. "Good luck." She whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled, leaving the garden.

* * *

Lucy walked back over to where the party was being held and found herself circled by everyone. 

"Dave told us what happened." Barbara said.

"Are you ok dear?" Millicent asked.

"Where's Carter?" Shelby inquired.

Lucy raised her hands up to silence the crowd. "First things first! I'm fine. Yeah, I'd like to yell at Carter's parents for the way they acted, but I'm fine. It takes a lot more that mean words to keep me down when I'm getting married tomorrow. As for Carter, he's going to confront his parents. He's the one that all of you should be worried about."

The crowd seemed satisfied by her answer, and they all scattered back into their groups. Dave and Shelby stayed near Lucy though. "So are you sure that you are ok?" Dave asked, his voice full of concern. "I heard some of the things that they said to you. It was harsh."

"Really, I'm fine." Lucy replied with a laugh. "I must admit thought. It was definitely an interesting experience. I've never been called a strumpet before."

"They called you a strumpet?" Shelby laughed.

"Yeah." Lucy laughed, "I was surprised by that one too."

* * *

Carter entered the study and saw his parents drinking and toasting with each other. "You're missing a good party." He told them as he came in. 

"John, dear, we…" Eleanor started to say as she smiled at him.

"Of course, you probably weren't too anxious to come join the party considering the fact that you have been trying to bribe my fiancée to leave me." He interrupted.

"What? We did no such thing!" Jack protested.

"Is that what she has been telling you?" Eleanor chimed in. "Well she's lying."

Carter took out the check. "Then why did you give her a check for two million dollars?"

"It's a wedding present for the two of you." Eleanor lied.

"Quit lying to me!" Carter yelled. "I know that you don't approve of my marriage to Lucy, and I don't really care. Tomorrow I'm getting married to the most wonderful woman in the world and she will become a member of my family. If you two can't accept that, then you can't be a part of our family."

"What are you saying?" Jack asked, getting worried.

"Are you choosing that girl over your own parents?" Eleanor asked in shock.

"That girl has a name, and that name is Lucy." Carter reminded his mother. "And quit acting like you even care! You guys quit being real parents to me the day Bobby died!"

"That's not true!" Jack protested.

"Yes it is. You've always been too busy for me. You didn't even call or visit when I was in the hospital last year! Now you want to come back and try to tell me who I should spend the rest of my life with? It doesn't work that way. You don't know me at all. But I had hoped that this wedding could be the start of a second chance for you two to act like normal parents." He sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. "Now I see that isn't possible. So I don't want you to come to the wedding tomorrow. I don't want to have anything to do with you from now on."

"You can't mean that son!" Eleanor cried.

"Yeah, I do mean that." Carter replied calmly. "In the past, you've been very good at forgetting you have a son. Since you've had so much practice, it shouldn't be too hard for you now." And with that said, he left his stunned parents and went to go join his beautiful fiancée.

Lucy saw Carter walk into the room and walked over to him. Judging by the look on his face, things hadn't gone well. "You ok?" she asked, giving him a hug.

"I am now that I'm with you." He whispered.

"Want to talk about it?" She offered.

"There's nothing to talk about. They won't be bothering us again."

Lucy just stood there with him, contemplating what his statement meant. She felt guilty that she was a contributing factor to Carter being fed up with his parents, but knew that she wasn't the only reason why he was angry with his parents. This incident just drove Carter to make a decision about his parents. She gave him a small smile. "Let's try to have a good time."

He smiled back. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

"It's been a long day." Carter whispered into Lucy's ear about an hour later. "Let's leave." 

"Can we do that?" Lucy whispered back.

"It's our rehearsal dinner. We can do whatever we want." He smiled.

She could tell by the look in his eye that he wanted to be alone so that they could be together. "Ok. Let's make a break for it."

Carter quickly got everyone's attention. "Thank you al for being here tonight to celebrate our wedding. Lucy and I are getting tired and need to get some sleep for tomorrow, so we're going to go home."

"Actually, you can't go home with Lucy." Barbara spoke up.

"What?" Lucy asked. "Why not?"

"Because it's bad luck for the groom to see or talk to the bride on their wedding day. So Carter, you're going to have to stay here at the mansion tonight." Barbara explained.

Carter didn't want to spend the night away from Lucy. He was about to object when he felt Lucy grab his arm.

"Ok mom." Lucy agreed. "Why don't you and grandpa go get the car? I need to speak with Carter for a moment, and then I'll be right out?"

Shelby laughed. "Yeah right. You're not actually going to be talking to him!"

Lucy shot her a dirty look.

"We'll go get the car." George replied.

"Thanks grandpa." Lucy smiled as she dragged Carter off to an empty room.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close to him as he could. "I don't want to be away from you tonight."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest. "I don't want to be apart either, but I've learned not to argue with my mom about certain things. This is one of those things. She is very devoted to superstitions." She then pulled her head off his shoulder and smiled. "Besides, we're going to have an entire two week honeymoon to be alone together. I know that's what I'm going to dream about tonight."

"I'll dream about that too. Maybe we could meet up in our dreams."

"It would be a lot easier to meet in our dreams if you told me where we are going for our honeymoon…"

"Nice try Luce, but I'm not telling you." He grinned. "It's been a surprise, and it's going to stay a surprise until tomorrow." He then gave her a kiss.

When they pulled away, Luck stroked his cheek with her hand. "Just think. By this time tomorrow, we'll be married."

"I can't wait." He smiled.

"Neither can I." She gave him a kiss. "But I should go before my mom sends out a search party for me."

"Just a couple more kisses to tide me over until tomorrow?" he pleaded.

She smiled, knowing that she couldn't resist him anymore than he could resist her. "Ok." They started kissing again and must have lost track of the time.

"Excuse me!" Barbara exclaimed loudly, finally getting the attention of Carter and Lucy.

Lucy pulled away from Carter and looked at her mom sheepishly. "Hi mom."

"Lucy, we should get going." Barbara smiled.

"Ok." Lucy replied, reluctantly letting go of Carter. But before she got too far away, he pulled her back to him.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." She whispered back, giving him a passionate kiss. The kiss could have developed into something more, but her mom pulled her away. "Bye."

"Bye." He waved.

"You two are like crazy teenagers!" Barbara laughed as she walked out of the mansion with Lucy.

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, but we're crazy teenagers in love."

* * *

Since Carter was staying at the mansion, Lucy's mother decided to stay with Lucy on the couch. They were getting ready to go to sleep when the phone rang. Lucy ran excitedly to the phone. "I knew you'd call!" she exclaimed, not letting the person on the other end of the phone speak. 

"Am I that predictable?" Carter laughed.

"No." she laughed. "I guess I was just hoping you'd call." She noticed that her mother was watching her with great interest and took the phone back to her bedroom.

"So what are you wearing?"

Lucy laughed harder. "I can't believe you just asked me that!"

"Why not? I'm curious." He pretended to be hurt. "Because in my mind, you're wearing nothing."

"Well sorry to disappoint, but I'm actually wearing a night shirt. To be specific, I'm wearing one of your shirts."

"One of my shirts?" He was even more curious now because she had never worn one of his shirts before.

"Yes, because it's the closest thing to actually sleeping in the same bed with you." She blushed.

He smiled. "I guess I should let you get some sleep. I just couldn't go to sleep without hearing your voice again."

"I love you."

"I love you too Luce. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Lucy hung up the phone and smiled. Tomorrow was going to be the start of a whole new life for her, and she couldn't wait.


	6. The Wedding Part One

Serenity

Chapter Six

**A/N: Oh my! I really, honestly can't believe that it's been two months since I've last updated on this story! I've just been having some family problems that needed to be addressed. Now that everything seems to be calming down again, I can concentrate on my writing again. So hopefully I won't have to go another two months until the next update. I hope that there are still people interested in reading this story, and also in my other story, "We Used To Be Friends". Enjoy!**

Lucy woke up the next day, overjoyed that it was her wedding day, and stumbled into the kitchen. There, she found her mom making coffee. "Ooh, coffee! I need that!" She stretched out her arms, expecting her mother to hand her a cup.

"I thought so." Her mom nodded, handing her a cup. "It's a good thing that you're finally awake. I was about ready to come and wake you up. We have a lot of things to do before the wedding."

Lucy looked over at the clock. 9:07. "We have about five hours to get ready. That should be plenty of time."

"Only five hours?" Her mother started to panic. "We need to get moving then! First, you need to go shower. Then we need to get your hair and make-up done. We'll take the dress to the church and you'll change there. And where's Shelby? Shouldn't she be here already?"

"Relax mom. She's probably on her way right now. Trust me, she wouldn't be late for this. She knows I'd never speak to her again if she did." Just as Lucy finished her statement, there was a knock on the door. "See?" Lucy pointed, walking to the door. "Hey Shelby. You're just in time. My mom was about to explode because you're a few minutes late."

Shelby smiled. "Sorry. I almost lost track of the time. Dave doesn't have many clocks at his place."

Lucy gave her friend a strange look. "You spent the night with Dave, again?"

Shelby blushed and nodded. "Guilty as charged."

Lucy's curiosity was more than piqued now. "Just how serious are you two getting?" Lucy asked, wanting all the details.

"This can wait until later." Barbara interrupted, gently shoving Lucy back towards the bathroom. "Lucy, you need to shower and Shelby, we need to get started on fixing your hair and make-up. We don't want to be late!"

"Mom, calm down!" Lucy laughed, putting a calming hand on her mother's shoulder. "We have time, besides, it's not like the wedding can't start without me!"

Barbara rolled her eyes. "Ha ha Lucy! But I can't calm down. We have a very tight schedule that we need to follow, and we're already a few minutes behind."

"Relax!" Lucy ordered. "Everything's ok."

"How come you're not freaking out, but your mom is?" Shelby asked, chuckling at the scene playing out in front of her.

"It's simple. I'm getting married in a few hours to a wonderful man. I feel nothing but happiness." Lucy replied with a huge smile on her face. "I'm going to go shower now though before my mom goes completely nuts."

* * *

A couple of hours later 

Lucy looked at her mom with interest as Shelby was putting the finishing touches on her hair and make-up. Her mom however, was running around like a chicken with her head cut off. She was gathering up everything that they would need at the church, and it was quite funny to watch her work.

"There. All done!" Shelby exclaimed, putting down the make-up.

Lucy looked at herself in the mirror. "It's great. Thanks Shelby."

"No problem." Shelby smiled.

There was a knock on the door, so Lucy got up and went over to see who was there. "Hello." She greeted. The guy in front of her was a man who seemed like he was in his forties. He was wearing a suit and carrying a clipboard.

"Lucy Knight?" The man asked, wanting to make sure that he had the right address.

"Yes, that's me." Lucy replied, wondering why there was a strange man at her door. "What's going on?"

"My name is James. Your fiancé ordered a limo to take you and your family to the church." James took an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Lucy. "He also asked that I deliver this to you."

She took the envelope that he was holding in his hand and sighed. It was just like Carter to surprise her with something like this.

"I have the limo waiting outside. Just come out when you're ready and congratulations on the wedding." James smiled.

"Thank you James. We shouldn't be too long." Lucy watched him walk away and then closed the door.

"What was that all about?" Shelby asked, walking over to Lucy and pointing to the door.

"Carter rented a limo to take us to the church. It's waiting outside." Lucy answered.

"Wow." Shelby exclaimed. "I'm gonna go tell your mom about this new development."

Lucy nodded, and then remembered that she still hadn't read the note from Carter. She tore open the envelope quickly.

_Lucy,_

_I thought that you and your family deserved to ride to the church like royalty because that's what you are to me. Today you become my Queen._

_Love,_

_John._

She put the note back into the envelope and stared off to the side, thinking about how much she loved that man.

"Lucy! Come on!" Barbara yelled, drawing Lucy back to reality. "I have your dress and everything you'll need, but we still have to pick up your grandfather from the hotel. So come on or we'll be late."

"I'm coming!" Lucy exclaimed, following her mother and Shelby out the door.

* * *

Carter adjusted his bowtie whole looking in the mirror. He then turned to Peter. "Does this look ok?" 

Peter shook his head in disgust. "Carter, man, how is it that you have no idea how to tie one of these things? You're from a wealthy family. Isn't this one of those things that you should know how to do instinctively?"

Carter laughed, and turned to face his best man. "Obviously it's not an instinctive characteristic or else I'd know how to do it. I've always just had someone else do it for me."

Peter released a heavy sigh and walked over to where Carter was standing. "Does Lucy know that she's marrying a man who can't even tie his own bowtie?" He asked as he started fixing the tie. "Cause going into a marriage with a secret like that is a recipe for disaster."

"That's very funny." Carter grumbled. When Peter was done working on his tie, he turned back around to look in the mirror. "Thanks. That looks much better."

"Yeah, well of course it does." Peter smugly replied. "You ready for today?"

"Absolutely." Carter smiled.

Peter smiled back. He was happy for his former med student, and he was also happy for Lucy too. After watching them together, it was very obvious that they loved each other. He just hoped that they could always stay as happy as they were right now.

"So when are you going to get married?" Carter asked curiously.

Peter laughed. "Not for a long time. I think that I might end up one of those confirmed bachelors."

"Yeah, that's what Doug said before he settled down with Carol. Now look at them. They are married with twins." Carter pointed out.

"Well it's not that I'm opposed to the whole marriage concept." Peter clarified. "I just haven't found anyone that I'd want to marry yet."

"Fair enough." Carter nodded, deciding not to interrogate him anymore.

* * *

"Lucy, I need to go check on some things. When I come back, we'll get you and Shelby into your dresses." Barbara stated. 

"Ok mom." Lucy nodded.

Barbara was halfway out the door when she spun back around to face Lucy. "And do not let Carter inside. It's bad luck for him to see you before the wedding."

Lucy was about to protest, but realized that she might as well humor her mother one this one. "Ok mom."

"I mean it! Do not let him in." Her mother insisted.

"I won't. Now go on!" As soon as her mother shut the door, she rushed over to Shelby. "Ok now that we're alone, will you tell me about you and Dave?"

"There's not much to tell, really. We're just having some fun together." Shelby shrugged.

"So it's nothing serious?" Lucy asked, disappointed. It would have been great if two of her best friends fell in love.

"Don't think so." Shelby shook her head. "He's too closed off. It's like there's someone else in his heart, and there isn't room for another woman."

"Sorry." Lucy smiled apologetically.

"Don't be." Shelby smiled. "He's a nice guy, and great in bed. I'm definitely not complaining."

The more she thought about Shelby's statement, the more she was confused. Dave wasn't dating anyone seriously. He was dating Anna for a while, but that wasn't a serious relationship. So who could this mystery woman in Dave's heart be?

"Lucy?" Shelby waved her hand in front of Lucy's face. "Lucy? Are you even listening to me?"

"Sorry! What did you say?" Lucy asked, being brought out of her thoughts about Dave.

"I just wanted to see if you needed anything. I was going to go take a quick look at the church before we change into our dresses." Shelby replied.

"Oh no, I'm fine. But thanks." Lucy smiled.

"Ok. I'll be right back." Shelby smiled back as she left the room.

A few minutes after Shelby left, there was a soft knock on the door. Lucy walked over to the door and put her hand on the doorknob. "Who is it?" She asked hesitantly. Even though she had told her mother that she wouldn't let Carter in, it would be hard for her to resist seeing him if he came by.

"It's Dave." The voice announced.

Lucy opened the door and smiled as he came in. "Hey! What brings you by?"

He stood in the middle of the room and looked at Lucy. She looked genuinely happy. But then again, why wouldn't she be happy? It was after all her wedding day, and she was getting married to a guy she loved. If he wasn't such a coward, he would tell her why he came by. But, since he was just a big coward, he choked back the real reason and grinned. "Well, I was hoping that you'd already be in your wedding dress and I'd get a sneak peak at the bride."

Lucy chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint, but you're gonna be surprised like everyone else."

He sighed. "I guess I'll just have to learn how to live with this disappointment."

"So I hear that you and Shelby have been spending some time together."

"Yes, we have." Dave nodded. He knew where this conversation was going. "Don't get me wrong. Shelby's a great person, and I have a lot of fun with her. But…"

"You would rather play the field a little more?" Lucy finished his sentence.

"Exactly." He nodded. "She's not my soul-mate."

She looked at him like he had grown another head. "I didn't know that you believed in soul-mates."

Once again, if he wasn't such a coward he would say something like, 'I didn't until I met you'. But alas, those words were not going to come out of his mouth.

"I guess that must have been one of the things you've learned from being my friend." Lucy smiled triumphantly.

He chuckled. "I guess so." He took another long look at her and saw how happy she was. "You're really happy, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am." She nodded.

"Then I am happy for you. Congratulations Lucy."

"Thanks Dave." She replied, drawing him into a hug.

He wasn't expecting the hug, although he probably should have since Lucy liked giving out hugs. And he honestly meant what he said. If she was happy, then he was happy for her.

"I'm so glad that you're my friend." Lucy told him as she pulled away from the hug.

"And I'm glad to have a friend like you." Dave smiled.

Shelby and Barbara came bursting into the room, both laughing at a joke they shared in the hallway. "Hi." Both said in unison.

"Hi." Dave waved. "Well this is my cue to leave. I'll see you all later."

After Dave left the room, Barbara walked over and started unzipping the garment bag that held Lucy and Shelby's dresses. "Let's go girls! Time is quickly running out."

* * *

"Oh Lucy, you look…I don't even think there are words to describe how beautiful you look." Barbara exclaimed at the first sight of her only daughter in her wedding dress. 

"Mom, I think you are a little biased." Lucy laughed, turning to Shelby. "What do you think?"

Shelby stood there looking at her best friend and just shook her head. "Gorgeous." That was the only thing that she could say.

Lucy then turned to look at herself in the mirror and was shocked by how good she really did look. The spaghetti strapped dress she was wearing accentuated every positive feature of Lucy's petite frame, and she decided that her mother and best friend weren't exaggerating when they commented on her looks. "I guess you're right."

Barbara got out her tissue and quickly wiped away a couple of stray tears that managed to slip through her eyes. "My only daughter is getting married." She sighed.

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, I am."

"I just can't believe that you're so grown up. You're getting married and soon you'll have children of your own…"

"That won't happen for awhile though. I'd like to experience being a doctor for a while before I tackle motherhood." Lucy interrupted.

"Oh, of course sweetie." Barbara smiled, as there was a knock on the door.

"Is everyone ready for the ceremony to begin?" George asked, sticking his head in the door.

"I don't know. Are you ready Lucy?" Shelby asked.

"Absolutely. Let's go." Lucy smiled.


	7. The Wedding Part Two

Serenity

Chapter Seven

**A/N: I am so glad to know that people are still reading and enjoying this story! Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

Carter and Peter stood at the alter, looking out at the group of wedding guests and waiting for the ceremony to begin. Peter looked over at Carter and leaned in closer. "Nervous yet?" He whispered.

Carter shook his head. "Nope, just anxious for this to start. The sooner it starts, the sooner she's my wife and we can go on our honeymoon."

Peter smiled. He was about to say something sarcastic, but the doors at the entrance of the church opened and Shelby was starting to walk down the aisle.

* * *

"Are you ready?" George asked his only grandchild. Shelby had already started walking down the aisle, and in a couple of moments, it was going to be their turn. 

Lucy nodded and took a deep breath, trying to calm the nervousness that had started to surround her. As much as she loved Carter wanted to marry him, she began to think that perhaps they should have eloped. Being in front of large crowds had always scared her, and now was no different. Whenever she got in front of large crowds, she felt self-conscious and felt overwhelmed. Even the fact that the people in that church were her friends, family, and co-workers didn't seem to help her nervousness lessen.

George sensed his granddaughter's nervousness and gave her a huge smile. "You're going to be fine. I know that you hate being in front of large crowds, but try not to focus on that. Just focus on Carter and everyone else will just float away. Trust me, I had to do the same thing when I married your grandmother."

"You were nervous too?"

"Oh absolutely! But I just focused on your grandmother and the fact that we were getting married. It helps to drown out everyone else."

"Thanks Grandpa, and not just for the advise." She gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for walking me down the aisle." Ideally, she would have loved it if her father could have been the one to walk her down the aisle. But since she didn't even know who or where her father was, having her grandfather give her away was just as special.

"It's my pleasure." He smiled. "Now let's go before that guy of yours wonders what's taking you so long."

Lucy laughed. "Ok." They walked to the entrance of the church and waited for the wedding march music to begin before starting to approach the alter. As Lucy walked down the aisle on her grandfather's arm, she briefly looked into the audience of the church. She saw that they all had their eyes glued on her, and while most brides would love to be the center of attention, it made her nervous. So she instead focused her attention on Carter, like her grandfather had suggested. He looked so handsome in his tux, and she noticed that his bowtie looked great. Inwardly she laughed as she realized that Peter must have had to help Carter with it. As she lifted her gaze to meet Carter's she was amazed by the look that he was giving her. It was enough to make her cry. He always looked at her like she was the only woman in the room, but this time, it was like she could see into his soul. After taking one look into those eyes, she knew for sure that she loved this man more than anything in the entire world.

Carter knew that Lucy was going to be a gorgeous bride, but he never expected her to look extremely gorgeous. At this moment, she honestly looked like an angel-his angel. God he loved this woman. He loved her smile, her laugh, hell he even loved the way she occasionally stole the covers away from him in the middle of the night. She wasn't perfect—nobody on Earth was. But to him, she's as close as anyone could possibly be. And now, within a matter of minutes, she is going to become his wife. He is actually going to have a wife and be married. Truthfully, he never even considered getting married until he met Lucy. He figured that he would simply be married to his career. But since Lucy, he realized that he wanted to settle down. He wanted to spend his life with his soul-mate.

Lucy looked over and smiled at her grandfather as they approached the alter.

Her grandfather slowly moved away from Lucy and gave her hand to Carter. He then kissed his granddaughter's forehead and went to sit next to Barbara.

Father Thomas Lang looked around the church, deciding that this was the time to start the ceremony. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together to witness the joining in holy matrimony of John Truman Carter III and Lucy Marie Knight. It is always a joyous occasion when two people come together and decide that they want to dedicate their lives to making each other happy; however, marriage is not a practice that should be entered into lightly. Marriage is a serious commitment and should only be entered into when the two people involved are completely devoted to one another." He paused, taking a look at Lucy and Carter. "After witnessing these two, I have no doubt in my mind that they are committed to making their marriage work."

Lucy stared at Carter, amazed that her grandfather's advise was actually working. Her nervousness was floating away with each passing moment she spent gazing into Carter's eyes.

Carter was staring right back at Lucy, although he wasn't doing so out of nervousness. He just simply couldn't bear to take his eyes off of her. This whole situation seemed like a wonderful dream and a part of him was afraid that if he didn't keep an eye on her she would disappear.

"If anyone here can show just reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace." Father Lang looked around the church to see if there were any objections and smiled when it became clear that no one was going to object.

Dave twisted around in his seat. This was his last chance to interrupt and tell Lucy how he felt about her. He would have too, but she looked too happy. It wouldn't be right to tell her about his feelings since she was so happy with Carter. He realized that he was going to have to resign himself to the fact that a future with Lucy was just a good friend and nothing more. At least she was happy.

"May I have the rings please?" Father Lang asked.

Peter reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two rings, which he promptly handed to the priest.

Lucy took this moment to hand Shelby her bridal bouquet, so that she would have both hands free.

"Thank you." Father Lang nodded to Peter as he put the rings on his opened bible. Closing his eyes, he said a small prayer. "Heavenly Father, please bless these rings and the couple who will wear them. Give them the wisdom and the courage to share their lives and souls with each other. Bless this union. Amen." He then opened his eyes and looked at the couple in front of him. "John Truman Carter, do you take this woman, Lucy Marie Knight, to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Carter looked straight into Lucy's eyes and smiled. "I do."

Father Lang then turned to Lucy. "And Lucy Marie Knight, do you take this man, John Truman Carter, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Lucy smiled at Carter. "I do."

Father Lang took Lucy's ring and handed it to Carter. "Please repeat after me. With this ring I pledge my life and love, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health 'til death do us part."

Carter took hold of Lucy's left hand and slowly slid the ring onto her finger while repeating the vows. "With this ring I pledge my life and love, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health 'til death do us part."

Father Lang then handed Carter's ring to Lucy. "Please repeat after me. With this ring I pledge my life and love, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health 'til death do us part."

Lucy grinned and placed the ring on Carter's finger while saying her vows. "With this ring I pledge my life and love, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health 'til death do us part."

Father Lang smiled. "By the power vested in me by the state of Illinois, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

"Finally." Carter whispered. He took a step closer to his new wife and touched her chin, tilting it upward. Then he slowly moved in and kissed her lips. After kissing her for a few moments, he remembered that they weren't alone. They had a whole church full of people staring at him. So he pulled away and grabbed her hand.

The applause from the crowd was overwhelming. Lucy noticed that there were quite a few of her female friends that were crying. She felt like crying too, but only because she was so happy. She looked over at her new husband. She noticed that he was staring back at her and she grinned.

"May I present, Mr. and Mrs. Carter!" Father Lang announced proudly.

The music started playing again, so they walked back down the aisle. When they made it down the aisle and away from the church full of people, Carter turned to his new wife. "I figured we would ride to the reception in the limo if that's ok with you."

"That's fine with me." Lucy replied, still staring into his eyes.

Carter pulled her close to him and snaked his arm around her waist. "I love you Mrs. Carter."

"And I love you Mr. Carter." Lucy replied, leaning up to kiss him.

The kiss started off innocently enough, but soon developed into a smoldering kiss full of passion and desire. Normally, a kiss like this would lead to a trip into the bedroom, but they couldn't do that right now. "We should get going before someone interrupts us." Carter said, reluctantly pulling away from the kiss.

"Yeah, you're right." Lucy laughed.

An idea suddenly popped into his head. "How would you feel about being a little late to our reception?"

Lucy smiled like a Cheshire cat because she knew what he had in mind. "How late do you want to be?"

"Not too late. We could tell the limo driver to take his time and go the long route to the reception area." Carter explained.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "You come up with some of the best ideas I have ever heard."

"Let's go." Carter smiled, leading her to the limo.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later 

"I wonder where they are. They should have been here by now." Millicent worried, checking her watch again.

"Don't worry. I'm sure nothing's happened to them." Barbara told the woman, placing a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. "If I know them, they are probably just enjoying some alone time."

Millicent laughed, realizing that Barbara was most likely right. "But isn't that what the honeymoon is for?"

Barbara laughed. "Yes, is it. I think they just want to get a head start on the honeymoon."

Millicent was going to say something else, but then she saw her grandson and new granddaughter-in-law enter the reception area.

* * *

"I think we took too long." Lucy whispered to her husband. "We're forty-five minutes late!" 

"Are you complaining about what we just did?" Carter teased her. "Were you not happy with it?"

"Oh I'm more than happy with it." She smiled. "I just think that we shouldn't have spent so much time in the limo. This is our reception after all."

"Don't worry. I'm sure everyone understands where we were and what we were doing. I think it would even be safe to assume that there was a bet going on about how late we'd be." Carter grinned.

Lucy laughed. "I wonder who won the bet this time."

Millicent and John Carter Sr. walked up to the happy couple. "It's nice of you two to show up." John laughed.

"Sorry Grandfather, Gamma. We just got stuck in traffic." Carter lied.

"Sure you did." Gamma smiled. "We just want to tell you congratulations, and we also have a wedding present for you."

"Oh, well that's sweet of you Millicent, but you didn't have to." Lucy spoke up. "Helping me plan the wedding was enough."

"Nonsense!" Millicent shook her head.

"Lucy's right. You two didn't have to get us a gift." Carter said.

"Well, we did. So deal with it." Millicent smiled.

John took out a piece of paper and handed it to his grandson. "I hope you two enjoy it."

Carter and Lucy took a look at the paper and were shocked. "You bought us a house?" Carter asked.

"Yes. You two are going to be starting a new life together. It's only fitting that you have a house to call your own." Gamma explained.

Lucy looked over at Carter and then at her new grandparents. "We can't accept this. It's too much…"

"Lucy, dear, giving this house to you and Carter makes us happy. We want to do this for you two. Please let us." Gamma insisted.

Lucy looked at Carter. "It does look like a nice house."

"And it is close to the hospital." Carter pointed out.

"Ok." Lucy relented. "We'll accept the house." She gave them both a hug. "Thank you so much."

"It's our pleasure my dear." John replied as he hugged both his grandson and granddaughter.

"I'm gonna go tell my mom about this." Lucy smiled. She kissed Carter's cheek before leaving to find her mother.

"She's such a wonderful girl." John replied. "You definitely married one of the good ones."

"I know." Carter smiled, watching Lucy talk to her mom.

"No matter what your parents said, Lucy is great and we are lucky that she is a part of our family." Gamma added.

Carter shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter what my parents think or say anymore. I have the most amazing wife and grandparents that I could ever ask for. Life doesn't get better than this."

* * *

"They gave you a house?" Barbara exclaimed. 

Lucy nodded. "I was just as shocked as you are."

Barbara let out a sigh. "Well I guess their gift beats mine. All I got you was a nice set of china."

"Ooh, what kind of china?" Lucy asked excitedly. She knew that her mom felt a little self-conscious about the fact that Carter's family was extremely wealthy.

"Remember that pattern we looked at a couple of weeks ago?" Barbara replied.

"You got us that pattern? The one with the small pink roses?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." She hugged her mother. "I love you mom."

"I love you too Lucy." Her mother replied as she held on to her daughter. "And you may be married now, but you're always going to be my little girl."

Lucy pulled away from the hug and smiled. "I know."


End file.
